To investigate the survival of bifidobacteria after spray-drying, Bifidobacterium infantis CCRC 14633, B. infantis CCRC 14661, B. longum ATCC 15708, B. longum CCRC 14634 and B. longum B6 were first spray-dried with different carrier media including 10% (w/w) gelatin, gum arabic and soluble starch. B. infantis CCRC 14633 and B. longum were also determined in skim milk. It was found that survival of bifidobacteria after spray-drying varied with strains and is highly dependent on the carriers used. Among the test organisms, B. longum B6 exhibited the least sensitivity to spray-drying and showed the highest survival of ca. 82.6% after drying with skim milk. Comparisons of the effect of carrier concentrations revealed that spray-drying at 10% (w/w) gelatin, gum arabic or soluble starch resulted in the highest survival of bifidobacteria. In addition, among the various outlet-air temperatures tested, bifidobacteria showed the highest survival after drying at 50 degrees C. Elevation of outlet-air temperature caused increased inactivation of bifidobacteria. However, the inactivation caused by increased outlet-air temperature varied with the carrier used, with the greatest reduction observed using soluble starch and the least with skim milk.